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A nice little space hopper but more improved bouncy toys available

INTRODUCTION---------------------My daughter loves being very active and is always running and jumping and generally on the go all the time! After she told me she'd been playing with big bouncy balls that you sit on and bounce around on at playschool, (I assumed she meant a space hopper...!) I decided I would get her one for Christmas.

My first port of call was amazon (it usually is!) I had a quick search and this one immediately caught my eye.

WHAT IS IT?---------------It's just a normal space hopper really but the best thing about it really is it's size. It is much smaller than normal space hoppers making it ideal for toddlers.

The size is 26 x 18.2 x 8.2 cm. The age range stated on amazon is 3 years - 7 years. I would say this is roughly ok, although I would probably change it a little to 2 years to 5 years. I bought it for my daughter last year when she was 2 and a half (and she's pretty average size for her age) and it was ideal for her. Up to 7 years is probably a bit optimistic as I think by 7 most children would have grown out of it.

It is a nice light blue colour with a picture of peppa pig on it (a big bonus for my daughter, as like most young children now she is a huge peppa pig fan!). The picture is of Peppa and her brother George bouncing on their own space hoppers.It has one loop shaped handle at the top and in front to hold on to while bouncing.

DELIVERY AND PACKAGING------------------------------------The space hopper comes in a small box and it is tightly packed in. It is deflated and folded down as flat as it can be and needs pumping up. I ordered from Amazon and it came pretty quickly.

INFLATING---------------Luckily for me, my mum has an electric pump! There is a little plastic bit that looks like a large white pin that plugs into the hole you use to inflate it and acts as a plug once inflated to stop air from getting out once it's being used.

I took out this little 'plug' and connected my mum's pump. It connected very easily and was very straight forward so I assume pumps are quite universal and any will do!

It was up and fully inflated very quickly. I reinserted the little plug and we were good to go!

PLAYING WITH IT----------------------My daughter hopped right on! She loved it! She found it a little hard to stay on top of the ball while bouncing but I think that's the same with all space hoppers and part of the fun. As mentioned earlier it is just the right size for her to sit on the top of it, hold on to the handle, and for her feet to reach the floor.

The ball bounces very well and is nice a squidgy. You have to bed careful not to over inflate as it then goes too solid and doesn't bounce as well.

My daughter has only used it inside. On Amazon it states that this is for indoor and outdoor play, however I do not think it would last too well outside unless you have a nice flat soft area. My garden is very bumpy and has gravel in various places so I don't think it would suit everybody for outside.

ANY NEGATIVES?-----------------------Yes, I would say the main down side to the Peppa Pig space hopper is that it doesn't come with a pump.I assume not everyone has a pump so this might have to be bought separately. This can be a bit disappointing for the child if you are not aware it doesn't come with a pump and they want to start bouncing right away (if anything like my children and seem to have no patience at all!).

Whilst my daughter had fun initially, she soon got bored. Playing with this space hopper didn't last that long and it soon got thrown aside. I would say it is not a toy that holds a child's attention as much as some others do.

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY----------------------------------This Peppa Pig Sit And Bounce is available to buy on Amazon for £7.99 with free delivery.

It has loads of really great reviews on Amazon so maybe it was just my daughter who got bored quickly with it.

CONCLUSION------------------I think this space hopper is a perfect child size and looks very appealing to both boys and girls as it is very neutral.

However I wouldn't purchase again. My daughter soon got bored of the hopper and moved on to other toys. After it had been left unplayed with for some time I ended up donating it to my local children's centre. It didn't get played with enough so was still in immaculate condition.

If your child would like something like this, I would probably give this one a miss and look into happy hopperz instead. I can not recommend them enough!!

I am going to give this 3/5 dooyoo stars as I really like it but think it's not as much fun as it looks.

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This is a very fun game for playing in the garden

WHAT IS IT?

A bouncer for children. It is blue and shaped like a space hopper with two thin handles at the top for your child to hold onto while they are using the bouncer.

THE DESIGN

The Sit And Bounce comes deflated and you have to pump it up yourself. It comes in a very small box that is hard to open because it is done up with very big staples, the box is very cheap looking and I would not like to give this as a present even though the product is good. When it has been inflated there is a picture of Peppa Pig on the front of the bouncer and the handles go crinkled so that children can hold them securely.

WHAT I THINK

I bought this for my daughters 2 years ago and it has been used a lot so I think that shows what good quality the bouncer is because even now it doesn't lose any air. They only play with it in the garden because it is dangerous in the house, children have not got such good coordination as adults so they can easily fall off the bouncer and then it's better for them to land on the grass rather than me worrying that they are going to bang their heads on the furniture.

If you inflate the bouncer fully it is very bouncy and young children sometimes have trouble controlling it. My daughter is 6 and she still plays on it a lot but my other daughter is 8 and she is too tall for it now so my husband bought her an adult sized space hopper. The handles are made of thick rubber so they are easy to hold and by pulling on them my daughter can steer the bouncer a little bit, they also help her to stop quickly if she bounces too close to something.

WHAT MY DAUGHTERS THINK

Both of my daughters have enjoyed playing with this bouncer right from when I bought it. They shared it so had to take it in turns but this year they have both had a space hopper so have been able to have races and bounce round the garden together.

My 6 year old is a bit worried that Peppa pig is too babyish for her now but she likes how high she can bounce on it but says the bottom sticks to the floor sometimes and makes her fall off.

ANYTHING ELSE

This bouncer is for children aged over 3 and costs about £10. You get 2 repair patches with it but we have not had to use those.

4 Dooyoo Stars.

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Great little space hopper to burn off all that energy

A few months ago I decided to explore my inner child and I bought myself an adult version of the Space Hopper. I had one of those crazy thoughts one day and decided to have a look for a children's version for my daughter, I had visions of the both of us bouncing about the place, some things are more fun with two right? My daughter is a massive fan of Peppa Pig, so I did a Google search on "Peppa Pig Space Hopper", when I saw this thing, it was exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. The price was very good so I ordered her one.

==What is it?==

The Mookie Peppa Pig Sit n' Bounce, is a childrens take on the famous Space Hopper from yesteryear. It is made from rubber and takes next to no time to pump up. You can pump it up using a pump, but rather than get the pump out, I just blew mine up manually. It is blue and has a picture on the front of Peppa Pig sitting on a yellow space hopper, and her brother George sitting on a red one. It does say that it is recommended for children aged 3-7, but I think this would be a little too small for a 6 or 7 year old, as it is the perfect size for my almost 3 year old.

==Use==

Unlike the adult space hopper which has two separate handles, this space hopper has a handle similar to the type you would find on a suitcase (made of rubber though), it is more of a bar than a handle. The child sits on the hopper, holding onto the handle with one leg either side, the child then propels his/herself along the ground using her legs, this is quite good exercise.

==Price==

I purchased my one from amazon.co.uk for the grand sum of £6.99 and that's what I call a bargain! Something your child can have fun with for a few years and it's under £10!

==Verdict==

My daughter loves this, when she first got it she was too small to be able to sit on it properly (she had just turned two at the time), so she used to just bounce it or kick it about the livingroom. Now that she is that little bit older (nearly 3), she can use it with ease. I wouldn't let her take it upstairs though, there is the safety aspect there, but it is alright for bouncing about the livingroom or even about the garden, as the rubber is really durable.

As I mentioned earlier, I have the adult version, and I have to say it's much better now my child and I have got something we can play with and have lots of fun together, she laughs when I fall off mine and I do the same when she falls off hers. I know if I were still living with the ex we wouldn't get away with bouncing around the livingroom like a couple of nutters, but now there is a lot more space in the livingroom to do this, and what's the point in having space if you haven't got a space hopper (Oh my god what a selling point). I think every child should have one of these and I suggest you parents out there get the adult version too, release your inner child!

To give you a better idea on size when I first got this for my daughter (at the age of 4) she couldnt sit on it properly as she wasn't tall enough so although it states age 3+ only buy for a 3 year old if they are tall!

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What does the hopper look like?

The whole hopper is mainly a sky blue colour and has images of Peppa & her little brother George on the front. There is two handles on the top of the hopper for the kids to hold on to while they are hopping around. The hopper is made out of a thick plastic and the handles are an even thicker plastic! When blown up it is circular in shape.

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Cleaning & maintenance

Considering this is bounced around constantly on mud and grass it is forever being left with marks. Cleaning is very easy and can be simply wiped away with a cloth and warm water - comes up looking near brand new everytime!

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My verdict

For the price you can't knock it - you can definetly pick it up in stores cheaper than you can on the internet so I would recommend you shop around for one.

Two years on and this space hopper is still going - always sitting proudly in the garden waiting to be played with.

My daughter still has lots of fun on it and her friends also enjoy it (as do I every now and again!)

The only issue I have had about the space hopper is how it deflates really easily so you need to be prepared to get your pump out to blow it back up again every couple of weeks.

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A great starter space hopper for small children

I bought this Peppa Pig space hopper for Hollie after she had a go on one at a party last summer and enjoyed herself so much that she actually cried when it was time to relinquish it to the next child. I'd thought that one was a bit too big for her so when I spotted this junior sized one in Home Bargains I decided she deserved a treat.

It's made of very thick rubber which is a nasty (in my opinion!) blue colour and features a basic scene of Peppa and George sitting on their own space hoppers, this picture is not the good quality I've come to expect from Mookie and has now flaked off quite badly. The hopper is only seven months old and has had the limited use you'd expect from this type of outdoor toy but already you can barely make out Peppa's face and George has all but disappeared completely!

It arrived deflated and there's no pump included, this wasn't a problem for us as Mark has several different pumps but if you don't have one you'll need to buy either an adaptable pump or one that fits in the very small hole at the back of the hopper. It looks to be quite an awkwardly sized hole so I'm not sure whether a standard pump would fit.

Once inflated it's apparent that this is a smaller than usual space hopper, at the moment it's deflated for winter but browsing photos of Hollie on it I'd estimate that it's roughly two thirds as big as a standard sized hopper. At four Hollie can sit and bounce on it comfortably, the thick rubber handles are long and sturdy enough for her to grip effortlessly - these handles have also saved the day several times as they're strong enough to prevent her falling off if she's bouncing a bit too vigorously! David actually used the thick handles to chew on through the summer when his teeth were hurting, the sausage shape was ideal for him to hold in his mouth and as weird as it looked it seemed to do the trick for a while!

It's up to you how much you want to inflate the hopper, obviously it's got to be done to a certain level but you can vary it slightly so that a highly inflated hopper will be slightly taller and more bouncy than one that has had less air pumped in. When Hollie first had hers we inflated it nearly all the way until she was used to balancing on it and then a couple of weeks later topped it up to make it extra bouncy, as by then she'd mastered the art of bouncing around AND staying upright! It didn't take her long to learn how to do it, the short size helping as she was able to keep her feet on the floor until she was confident.

This space hopper doesn't lose air, the last one we had was around eight years ago and that one needed pumping up pretty much everyday whether in use or not - this one didn't need any extra air adding throughout the summer and when we deflated it after that warm October snap it was as firm as when we originally pumped it up.

Regardless of the Peppa branding I'd say this is an excellent choice for any child who yearns for a space hopper, it's the perfect size for small people and is an fun toy to play around with in the garden. When it comes to choosing outdoor toys I try to look out for things that will encourage the kids to be active, and judging by Hollie's red face after a bouncing session I think I chose wisely this time - obviously it's a toy that could cause injury (or at the least dented pride when the child falls off!) so supervision is required at all times. The recommended age range is 3 - 7 years and I think this is spot on, although remember the product is the same size however old your child is so it might be too big for some three year olds and definitely too small for many children of seven!

Now for the bizarre point about this space hopper. I paid £12 for it, but Amazon currently have it in stock for £6.99 including delivery - which is a decent price regardless of the minor issues I have with it.

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A fantasic space hopper for my children

We actually purchased 2 of these one for my son and one for my daughter in the summer as we had been to a party and they had loved them so we decided to add them to our outdoor toy collection. They cost us around £6 each and as they come in a light blue colour they can be used for boys and girls which is good as it means they could have the same toy without arguments.

The space hoppers arrived and they are very easy to inflate we have an electric pump so within a minute they were both ready to go. When inflated we noticed 1 was actually bigger than the other we thought maybe we had added more air to one but after inspecting it seems that they are actually 2 different sizes not greatly but enough to notice although this was actually really good as this meant my eldest son could have the larger one and my daughter got the smaller one.

On the front of each of these there is a printed picture of Peppa and George pig bouncing on balls themselves which my children love. As it is bright and attractive it means it is one of the first things that stand out so any Peppa pig fan will love this.

The ball is wide enough so children can easily sit on top of it and the handles are rather large and chunky so little one can get a good grip. They have small indents on them so it provides more grip for them I did worry they may be a little large for my daughter's hands but actually they are perfect for her. Unlike the picture above ours actually have a t-bar at the top of the handles joining them together and making it a lot easier for smaller children to get a good grip.

The jumper is so very easy to clean as it is made of a wipe able material all you need is a damp cloth and it comes up as good as new. There are no signs of wear although it has been used indoors and out it has been very durable and shows no signs of wear.

My children also like to try and use these as a ball although rather large to play catch it still entertains them time after time rolling them along and trying to pick them up and throw them that or dragging them behind them pretending they are walking a dog great to help their imaginations run wild.

I think these are great they help children learn about balance and my children never seem to get bored with it they find new ways to play every time they go on it and it is well loved by older visitors who come to play also. An all round fantastic toy that last for years would strongly recommend. They can be used in doors and out and are extremely durable all round my children have used it on many different outside surfaces and I have survived them all.

This bouncer is recommended from age 3 plus but my daughter received this when she was 2 and she was just the right size for it my 4 year old son also is able to sit comfortably on it and he can bounce just as well so they are very good at lasting through a good age range.

I loved my space hopper when I was a child and now my children love theirs I am sure these will last for my youngest son for when he is big enough and also hopefully my expected little girl for when she grows up and is big enough to use it for the price of £6 I think these are brilliant.